For Immediate Release September 6, 2007

The 29th Annual Harvest Festival Slated for September 15 & 16 at The Farmers’ Museum

COOPERSTOWN, NY—The Farmers’ Museum’s historic village and farm will abound with a wide array of entertainment, seasonal foods, and crafts during its annual celebration of the harvest season on Saturday and Sunday, September 15 & 16. The 29h Annual Harvest Festival, held from 10 am to 5 pm each day, will entice visitors of all ages to take in the museum’s lively and festive atmosphere complete with performers, artisans, exhibitors, agricultural demonstrations, and food and craft vendors.

Following with tradition, festival favorites Jim Kimball and Dick Bolt, presenting traditional music of New York State; Dickens the Clown, entertaining children with his juggling feats; and the B.F. Harridans, presenting traditional Morris dancing, will entertain audiences throughout the weekend. In addition, visitors can see dog agility demonstrations by the Kilmoreen Training Center and the Junior Livestock Show’s Parade of Champions. Festival programming also includes Leatherstocking Brass, Katie Boardman and the New Century Singers, and the Priceteeni Performing Flea Circus.

Traditional harvest foods and the wares of craftspeople will be for sale, along with a host of activities for children and families to enjoy. Throughout the weekend, visitors can participate in historic games and races, kids’ crafts, horse-drawn wagon and tractor rides, and farm activities and domestic demonstrations, such as flax processing, haystack building, rope making, medicine making, and food preparation over the open hearth.

In celebration of the Bicentennial of Cooperstown and the birthday of James Fenimore Cooper, The Cooperstown Women’s Club is sponsoring a “Birthday Cake Bash” contest on Saturday, September 15th, with judging taking place from 2:00 to 2:30 pm followed by award presentations at 3:00 pm in the Louis C. Jones Center. Cake entries must be brought to The Farmers’ Museum between 1:00 and 1:45 pm. Judging is for appearance only, not for taste. First, second, and third place prizes will be awarded for the best looking birthday cake and the most creative birthday cake in each of the following categories: professional, amateur adults, children ages 9–14 and children ages 4-8. Birthday cake contest entrants are admitted free to the Harvest Festival. For more information, please call (607) 547-2411.

In addition, there will be an Antiques Appraisal Day as part of the scheduled activities on Sunday, September 16 from 10 am to 4 pm in the Louis C. Jones Center at The Farmers’ Museum. This year, three well-known appraisers from the Hesse Galleries in Otego, professional Conservator C.R. Jones, and the Curator of Collections from the New York State Historical Association and the Fenimore Art Museum, Doug Kendall, will be present.

For a fee of $25, the public is invited to bring two items for appraisal. Pre-registration is required and each participant will be given an informal 15-minute time slot to meet with the appraisers, who will provide information on dates, materials, condition, origin, and possible value of objects presented. The session is limited to twenty participants, so call soon to reserve a spot. To register, please call Bev Olmsted at (607) 547-1416.

Across the road, at the Fenimore Art Museum, visitors can see the exhibition Folk Art On Fire, a visually impressive assemblage of 19th-century firefighting memorabilia drawn primarily from the private collection of Robert and Katharine Booth, the Bucks County Historical Society, the Fenimore Art Museum and The Farmers’ Museum. Fire companies were eager to celebrate their value to their communities by embellishing their everyday gear and ceremonial dress, and by commissioning noble portraits of firefighting heroes. In this exhibit, viewers will see more than 70 objects including elaborately decorated hats, buckets, banners and clothing as well as paintings and firefighting equipment. The exhibition provides a comprehensive view of firefighting in the 19th century through themes of Brotherhood, Identity, Icons and Pride.

Admission to the event (includes admission to both the Fenimore Art Museum and The Farmers’ Museum) is $11 adults, $9.50 seniors (65 and older), $5 children 7-12, children 6 and under and members of the New York State Historical Association are free. On Harvest Festival weekend only, visitors who sign up for a new membership in the New York State Historical Association will receive a 20% discount on the annual membership fee.

Harvest Festival relies on the generous spirits of our volunteers and their gifts of valuable time. If you would like to be considered to be a part of this special group of people please call Nancy Karaman, Volunteer Coordinator at (607) 547-1533.

About The Farmers’ Museum
As one of the oldest rural life museums in the country, The Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown, New York, provides visitors with a unique opportunity to experience 19th-century rural and village life first-hand through authentic demonstrations and interpretative exhibits. The museum, founded in 1943, comprises a Colonial Revival stone barn listed on the National Register for Historic Places, a recreated historic village circa 1845, a late- nineteenth-century Country Fair featuring The Empire State Carousel, and a working farmstead. Through its 19th-century village and farm, the museum preserves important examples of upstate New York architecture, early agricultural tools and equipment, and heritage livestock. The Farmers’ Museum’s outstanding collection of more than 23,000 items encompasses significant historic objects ranging from butter molds to carriages, and hand planes to plows. The museum also presents a broad range of interactive educational programs for school groups, families, and adults that explore and preserve the rich agricultural history of the region.

The Farmers’ Museum is located on 5775 State Hwy. 80, Lake Road, in Cooperstown, NY. Museum admission is $11 for adults, $9.50 for visitors age 65 and over, and $5 for children age 7 to 12; children 6 and under and members are admitted free. From April 1 through May 14 and October 9 through October 31, admission prices are reduced to $9 for adults, $8 for seniors age 65 and over, and $4 for children age 7 to 12. Reduced price combination admission tickets that include the Fenimore Art Museum and The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum are also available. For museum hours or general information, please call 1-888-547-1450 or visit www.farmersmuseum.org.

For further information or photographs, please contact:
Christine Liggio, Public Relations Office
The Farmers’ Museum/the Fenimore Art Museum
(607) 547-1472/c.liggio@nysha.org